Management

Michael Spindler was supposed to be the German diesel, the efficient, hard-pushing operations man who could save an Apple Computer spoiled by a rich diet of visionary bosses from founder Steve Jobs to marketer John Sculley. When Spindler was first brought to Apple headquarters by Sculley in 1990, he seemed to be just the right man. He was the architect of Apple's successful push into low-cost computers with the Mac Classics.

Apple Computer Inc. saw tremendous growth in the late 1970s and 1980s but then watched its fortunes fall as it battled price competition and struggled to compete in a Microsoft-dominated computer world. The company has historically been plagued by management problems and infighting. On Friday Apple announced it was naming Gilbert F. Amelio as chairman and chief executive.

Reeling from losses, executive defections, and persistent reports that it is about to be sold, Apple Computer on Friday ousted Chief Executive Michael Spindler and replaced him with veteran Silicon Valley executive Gilbert F. Amelio.

The head of NASA's space shuttle program resigned after expressing concern to space agency officials about cost-cutting measures that will change the program's management structure. Bryan D. O'Connor, 49, a former astronaut and Marine Corps pilot, said he will leave the program at the end of the month "to pursue other interests."

Los Angeles County health services chief Mark Finucane on Wednesday promised a "quick and unfortunately brutal" shake-up of his top managers who fail to help turn the embattled department around. "I'm taking a hard look at everybody who reports to me and I'm taking a hard look at the quality of work everybody does," Finucane told state legislators and Los Angeles County supervisors at a briefing on the continuing county health care crisis. Finucane, who took over the troubled $2.

At 65 and under pressure to retire from money-losing Cimco Inc., founder Russell T. Gilbert fought back and came up with a plan that kept his original plastic-molding business intact and saved more than 350 jobs in Orange County. In the process, Gilbert withstood a boardroom battle that he describes as "the worst nightmare I ever went through" and returned the company to profitability. As part of his rescue plan, Gilbert struck a deal to sell Cimco for $32.6 million--$10.50 a share--to M.A.

Now comes the hard part. As former National Semiconductor chief Gilbert F. Amelio takes the reins today as chairman and chief executive of Apple Computer Inc., he will find a company with both short-term and long-term problems that many industry analysts consider intractable. At the outset, he'll have to deal with Apple warehouses filled to the rafters with surplus Macintosh computers--about $1 billion worth--that must be sold before they become obsolete.

New MCA Chief Executive Frank J. Biondi Jr. said the entertainment company will explore cable and network opportunities but that a plunge into TV distribution isn't inevitable. "I'm not coming in with a point of view that you need a franchise in cable networking or a franchise in broadcasting to be complete or to be competitive. Those are issues, but they aren't the only way to look at those issues," Biondi said in an interview. Some analysts have suggested that MCA Inc.

St. John Knits Inc.'s stock fell $5 to $61.75 Tuesday, one day after co-founder Robert Gray announced that his daughter, Kelly, is being promoted to president of the women's clothing and accessories company. St. John executives declined to speculate what caused the 7.5% drop during trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The company's shares fell as much as $5.25 before rebounding slightly toward the end of the trading day.

Tim Leiweke began his term as president of the Kings on Tuesday by pledging to end the turbulence of the recent past and within two years turn the Kings into "a role-model franchise" whose state-of-the-art arena will be near reality. "This is by far the greatest challenge I've taken on, and I'm not taking it lightly," said Leiweke, whose three-year deal to run the club's business operations and spearhead plans for a new building could be as much as $450,000 annually.